Saanich residents have until Aug. 9 to submit their views about the future of Cedar Hill Park.
The online survey is part and parcel of Saanich’s study into the future of Cedar Hill Park, one of Saanich’s largest park. The process started in Sept. 2016 and wraps up in March 2018.
Eva Riccius, senior manager of parks, said last week that Saanich had received just under 500 responses, “which is a really good number” for surveys of that kind.
With a size of over 53 hectares, Cedar Hill Park ranks among the largest and most heavily used parks. It is home to the Cedar Hill Golf Course, Cedar Hill Recreation Centre, McRae House, a chip trail, as well as two baseball diamonds, Kings Pond, and numerous natural areas.
The review focuses natural areas and open land located throughout the park, the chip trail, Kings Pond, a tributary of Bowker Creek, and the Queensbury and Finlayson parking lots. It excludes the golf course as well as the recreation centre.
Riccius said she could not discuss the responses so far, because she did not want to influence future submissions. This said, the quality has impressed her.
“I think it has been good,” she said.
Once the survey has closed, these responses will appear under various thematic headings, which stakeholders will then workshop. A smaller advisory group will then condense these workshop findings into a draft report for public review, she said.
“We want to ensure that the level of input matches the level of interest,” she said.
